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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27673538">Felina</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrostedHolly/pseuds/FrostedHolly'>FrostedHolly</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Doctor Rin, Fluff and Humor, Gang Violence, Hatake Kakashi-centric, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Obito is Obito, Slow Burn, and minato is minato, apocalypse au, but he IS the only character who has his ducks in a row, fallout 4 vibes otl, hes caring and gives off millennial dad vibes, hes not a millennial dad but hes protective, leat fingies, let me clarify, not in this one though, only in chapter two dont get too excited, yet - Freeform, you know</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 06:20:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,089</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27673538</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrostedHolly/pseuds/FrostedHolly</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kakashi needs to get to El Paso, a well-guarded community of people that live easier lives than him. He's tired of the constant sting of the sun, the restless nights spent jumping at every small sound around him and the constant stress of not knowing when his next meal will be. </p><p>Luckily, the leader of El Paso himself and his rather attractive comrade come to his aid by chance one night when he makes a near fatal mistake, and they invite him to go to the compound with them. Really, what are the chances of that?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hatake Kakashi/Uchiha Obito</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Felina</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>wow, what?!?!! a story by frostedholly that isnt from obitos pov?!?!?! absurd 🤨</p><p>so i was approached by a friend who gave me some story ideas that he loves to have explored in fanfiction as well as super fun character dynamics that can't go wrong and here we are! an apocalyptic-type AU based off of el paso by marty robbins 🐒</p><p>also wanted to share the fact that i have officially collected all 72 volumes of naruto! i just purchased the remaining 13 that ive been needing to get for the past three weeks! 🥳</p><p>i am now broke asab and i just got paid this passed friday *sobs*</p><p>also i just had to fix a bunch of paragraphs that were strangely all italicized? sorry if you had to read that i really could not explain to you how that happened lol</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kakashi's not too big on scavenging.</p><p>He has to do it though, so he doesn't complain about it. He couldn't even if he wanted to, because nobody's been around for the past few months— five, six? he's lost count— and he's sure that's not going to change any time soon. He has to suck it up and try to find anything of value, just like he does day after hot day. </p><p>The chances of that aren't looking too good. The house he's found is somewhere far off from Austin, secluded and with no other landmarks in sight. It used to be an old wooden house, now reduced to a splinter trap. It's small, only about three rooms big, with thin walls and broken furniture. He steps over ratty couch pillows and balances across a broken, wobbly tabletop. It shakes underneath him, not secured on a mound of rubble, and he has to regain his posture until it stops and he can proceed. Then, he steps down onto stable ground and heads into what used to be a kitchen, eyes constantly moving to check for signs of danger. </p><p>When he's searching the kitchen, he's suddenly startled by a groan and a loud, violent creak behind him. Turning and ducking down, he draws his gun from where it sat tucked under his belt and takes aim in one fluid motion. His eyes land on the table he had walked across moments before, watching it slide down the pile of rubble, revealing nothing more than chipped wood planks. He waits a moment after the movement stops before easing his body, holding his gun down at his side as he slinks over, kneeling, to the living room. He rounds the corner, throwing the gun up skillfully, but lowers it again when nothing jumps out at him. His attention then travels back to the dust pile revealed by the table, interest piqued as something shines from within it. <i>Nothing</i> shines that bright anymore.</p><p>His heart beats erratically in his chest as he fights to calm down, approaching the area carefully. He never takes his eyes off of the almost blinding shine as he draws closer. Hoping that it's not just some fragment of shattered glass, he removes the wood chips and dust from around it and his heart begins to go even faster, so quick that he thinks he might be having a heart attack. It's a full water bottle, wrinkled and unopened and so, so shiny. He sends an extensive prayer to whatever being is watching over him as he hastily grabs the bottle. He shrugs off his bag, unzipping it and shoving the treasure inside. He rummages around the waste to see if there's any more, but he gives up after a while of coming up empty-handed. Not disheartened, he stands from where he'd been sitting and heads through the rest of the house to do a full sweep. When he turns up with nothing else, he leaves the building. </p><p>He feels like a child that's just been given candy.</p><p>He sets out again, eyes forward and shoulders a lot less heavy. All of a sudden, the badlands of west Texas seems less of a daunting trip to embark. It's hot and there's certainly going to be a few mutated monsters crossing his path, but he's got <i>water.</i></p><p>Water is very, very hard to come by— it's a luxury he has to go without most days. Which is torture, because he's been walking westward ever since he lost his last group several months ago, and even before then. The hot desert air burns any water he's drank right out of him, and it only seems to be getting hotter and hotter. </p><p>His last group hadn't lasted too long, actually. He met them in their own home while looking for ammo and a place to rest. He'd clambered through a window because he couldn't get in any other way, and was met with a gun shoved in his face by a dark haired boy with even darker eyes. A girl and another boy rushed in at the commotion, and had discussed with the first male what they should do with him. After a lot of convincing, they let him stay, and for the next three or so weeks, he got to know them pretty well. Sakura was the name of the girl with pink hair and emerald eyes and a punch that could break diamond. The boy that held a gun to his face was named Sasuke, a closed-off loner type who genuinely cared about the others, treating them like family. Then there was Naruto, a boy with bright yellow hair and even brighter blue eyes and a smile as true as the sun. Before Kakashi even knew it, they had all grown on him. </p><p>During his time with them, he'd taken turns going out on supply runs and had gotten some good, much needed rest while he was at it. They had it good for a while, and he'd been hopeful that they could all make it to El Paso together someday. That is, until Naruto didn't return from his shift on a supply run one evening. At that moment, he'd just assumed that Naruto was running late and he'd be back by morning, and Sakura had felt the same, but Sasuke had sent himself into a quiet panic. In a wave of red-hot emotions, Sasuke had walked into the night in search for their missing comrade, despite Sakura's arguing for him to sit tight and wait. Kakashi had been too uncomfortable to join in on the argument, and the decision to stay silent will be one that he will forever regret. The next morning, Sasuke and Naruto didn't show up. Kakashi had waited one more day before silently slipping away into the silence of the night. </p><p>He'd felt <i>terrible</i> leaving Sakura to fend for herself like that, but he reasoned with himself that it was for the better. He didn't want to wait around for her to disappear either. He'd rather leave and childishly believe that she's still alive, that maybe Naruto and Sasuke eventually returned to her, than face the very real possibility that they've all been killed. It's an immature thing to do, and at his age he should really act better, but he couldn't help himself. </p><p>Sometimes, as Kakashi walks through the barren desert, breathing in the acrid taste of radiation that never truly goes away, he thinks about those three. They'd left him some pretty good memories that have kept him going for a while. Sometimes, he hopes that Sakura found it in herself to move on, and other times he wonders if the other two returned alive and kicking. He knows he'll likely never see them again. </p><p>It's not like him to get sentimental. He can't afford it, because thinking too much will distract him from the things going on around him, the <i>here</i> and the <i>now.</i> Enjoying such a thing could surely cost him his life, and right now, that's the only thing he's got left to lose. As far as he's concerned, the world has taken everything he's ever had, but it won't take him alive. </p><p>Even so, sometimes he gets awfully close to giving up.</p><p>He pushes on though, because there's no other option to take but to keep walking through the desert towards the west Texas town of El Paso. With not a landmark in sight, he thinks about the people he once knew and the life he had led before it all came to an end. He wouldn't give his life for anything, but he would gladly lay it down if it meant he got to see the people he loves once more. Being alone is enough to drive any man insane. That's a dream that will never be recognized, as long as his eyes are dry and his lungs are scratchy when he breathes in dust and dirt and radiation and exhaustion. </p><p>As time passes and his feet get sore, the sun's heat finally eases off his shoulders. The hills ahead of him are silhouetted by the guiding sun, orange and red streaking the sky like an old painting. Behind him, the sky is still blue, which he knows will soon fade to black. It's a blessing as much as it is a curse. </p><p>As he continues, the eyes the huge, mutated scorpions as they crawl up from their underground dens in the loose dirt. He's learned that they're not hostile, just as long as he maintains his distance. It doesn't matter too much anyways, because he's about a day and a half away from El Paso, if his estimations are correct. Once he gets there, he won't have to deal with this much anymore. </p><p>He's learned from several sources that El Paso has become a refuge for wandering travelers. Back when he had been in the small Northern Louisiana town of Banks Springs with his dad, they had thought it a good idea to set out west, away from the sites where radiation had been the worst. One, in Washington, D.C., another in New York City and the last, strangely enough, in central Wisconsin. The western states had been left untouched, but they still suffered massively. </p><p>It was there, just about two hours away from the east Texas border that they'd been attacked by five raiders. That day, Kakashi had been robbed of everything he had. His supplies, his keepsakes, and even his father. He'd been forced to run away, and had narrowly escaped the attack. He's never dared return to the place of his father's slaughter, and even if he did, he's not hopeful that anything of his father is left. The only thing remaining that connects his father to this world is the impression he left on Kakashi, and the memories he left him with. And, of course, Kakashi himself, being the man's spitting image.</p><p>Because of that, he wears a mask under his eyes. There's not a lot of water or glass to reveal his reflection to himself, but every time he does so much as <i>think</i> about his face, the image of his father getting shot enters his mind, loud and paralyzing, and he can't think, he can't see—</p><p>He jolts back, yelling as an intense stinging pain travels up from his left leg, nearly blinding him. He focuses to see a scorpion mutant screeching at him, charging him with long legs and a tail longer than its body stretched out to stab him. On instinct, he tries to move back, grabbing his gun from his side, but he finds that he can't move his leg. </p><p>
  <i>It's paralyzed him!</i>
</p><p>He raises his gun shakily and shoots it dead-on, but it doesn't go down. It recoils, flinches back, but it comes back up with all of its previous fury from before. The sound of his gun rings out again as he shoots at the base of one of its legs, effectively immobilizing it to some significant degree, giving him time to <i>think.</i></p><p>Even then, the monster rises up, rightening itself to attack again, and Kakashi ruefully uses another bullet to take it down, but the gun clicks. </p><p>He cusses under his breath as he reaches down to grab some bullets, fumbling as he looks between the scorpion and his hand. He hastily attempts to reload his pistol, but he's not fast enough, because the monster lunges at him with a cry before he gets the chance to take aim. He closes his eyes, ducking down in a last-ditch effort to preserve his life, and he hears a whistle, a loud boom that his mind is too frenzied to register. Then there's a suffocating weight on top of him that knocks him to the ground. </p><p>Hesitantly, he opens his eyes to a starry black sky, realizing that he's still <i>alive.</i> The thing on top of him, upon inspection, is the scorpion, dead and sticky with black blood. Kakashi feels it seep through his clothes, and represses the urge to retch. He wants to roll out from under it, to get away, but everything on his body down to his soul is smoldering, burning under blue flames. He hurts everywhere. </p><p>He doesn't have to move though, because someone approaches him and shoves the corpse off of his body. He wants to take a deep breath of relief, because it <i>should</i> feel good, but his body still hurts and he can't breathe right. He hears talking around him, frantic and worried, but he can' hear what they're saying. It gets harder for him to focus, and he feels his conscious ebb away until everything goes as black as the night sky. </p><p> </p><p>His head hurts terribly.</p><p>He hurts all over, really, and his leg is throbbing. He's hot, and he seems to be resting on something soft. Disoriented, he opens his eyes and tries to look around for anything that will jog his memory. His neck protests vehemently, so he immediately stops trying, but from what he <i>can</i> see, he's in a house of some kind. The fact that he doesn't know where he is and why he's there is concerning enough in its own right, and it scares him a great deal. He prevents the urge to panic and decides to consider his options. He can't come up with many over the pounding headache and the throbbing in his leg, and ultimately decides he's far too sore to move anywhere. Escape is out of the question. </p><p>"Good, you're awake!" The voice he hears to his left makes him flinch, impeding on his headache, and he attempts to move his head to see the other person in the room, but grunts at the stinging pain <i>that</i> produces. All he can do is lay still as the seemingly male person continues, "awesome. So let's talk about why you were walking alone in the middle of the desert at <i>night,</i> and decided to step on a scorpion's tail?"</p><p>"Don't antagonize him, Obito," a much warmer voice, originating from his left, scolds, "he's just woken up from a scorpion sting. He must be in a lot of pain. Let him get his bearings." </p><p>"As he should," Obito snorts, "it was a pretty dumb idea. Don't know what he was expecting."</p><p>"Wait," Kakashi interrupts weakly, voice cracking from a sore throat, and he stuns both men silent, "how did you find me?"</p><p>"We heard a loud screech, and went to investigate," the gravelly, higher voice of Obito's starts, matter-of-factly, "there, we found you. You were reloading and a scorpion was jumping at you. Minato shot it dead for you, and you passed out before we got the chance to talk to you."</p><p>"So we brought you here," Minato, the voice to his left, pipes up, warm and fatherly, reminding him of his late father, "we were out looking for people to recruit. We were all lucky to have found you in the exact moment that we did. Had we have been just one second late, you might have lost your life."</p><p> "People to recruit?" Kakashi questions, too shook up to acknowledge anything else the man said. He doesn't want to think about the possibilities. </p><p>"We're from El Paso," Minato says, and all of Kakashi's pain numbs for just a split second at the admission, "we wanted to find survivors and offer them help. I'm actually the leader there."</p><p><i>This</i> man is the leader of El Paso? It's almost odd, because Kakashi somewhat expected this man to be ruthless and menacing, willing to go great lengths to keep his people standing strong. Minato doesn't exactly sound like the type. What are the chances that his life was saved by El Paso's very <i>leader?</i> It's ludicrous, but he finds himself wanting to believe it.</p><p>Kakashi forces himself to fight the stiff pain in his neck so he can get a good look at the supposed leader of El Paso. He's shocked at what his eyes are met with; a handsome young man, perhaps a handful of years older than himself, with bright yellow hair and even brighter blue eyes, and everything <i>about</i> him— as far as Kakashi can see— is warm and caring. Protecting, loving, his sharp eyes telling him so, just like his father once had. He watches as the man's lips part to speak.</p><p>"So, I take it you'll want to come with us?" He's smiling now, so bright and radiant, as true as the sun, and Kakashi's brought back to the memory of a younger boy who had that same smile, "I'm Minato Namikaze. It's a pleasure to meet you."</p><p>"I'm Obito," the man to his other side hums, a lot less teasing than last time. </p><p>Kakashi finds himself speaking absently, shocked at Minato's formality. Not many people are so well-spoken anymore, "Yeah. My name's Kakashi Hatake."</p><p>"So, Kakashi," the gravelly voice of Obito emerges, "where're you from?"</p><p>Obito's voice is the exact opposite of Minato's. Where buttery-smooth syllables turn to a tar-like drawl, loud and rocky and not the least bit off-putting somehow. This time, he slowly turns his head to the right, and he's met with a rather unorthodox-looking man kneeling down near his head. Minato's partner has scars on the right side of his well defined face, cropped with short, messy black hair. His eyebrows are thin and pointed, his eyes blacker than night and narrowed down, but not as sharp as Minato's. He's got a faded 1985 Rolling Stones concert t-shirt on that he fills quite well, and a white patch of skin rounding his elbow. </p><p>Half of his attention catches Obito say, "like what you see?" before Minato's amused snort snaps him out of his self-induced trance. He glances over to watch Minato walk around the room, grabbing a few things from a table and some from a duffel bag before coming back, emptying his hands on the floor at Kakashi's feet as he sits to his left, eyes trained on Kakashi's leg. </p><p>"I asked you a question, you know."</p><p>He looks up at Obito, who is watching him expectantly, a smile playing at his lips, eyebrows lifted up and eyes glinting with amusement. Kakashi's own narrow and his brow pinches because since <i>when</i> did Obito ask him <i>anything—</i></p><p>"He asked where you're from," Minato provides mercifully and <i>yeah,</i> he feels dumb because now he remembers Obito asking him that. </p><p>"Louisiana," he looks away and towards the ceiling as he feels Minato poking at his leg. It hurts like hell, but he's never been a little bitch and he never will be. These men are from El Paso, and he's never been one for going out of his way to impress people, but he's not going to complain in front of them.</p><p>Minato clicks his tongue, shaking his head gently, speaking distractedly, "all of you are from the south. First Obito, and now you too? I lose faith that I'll ever meet anyone from Iowa."</p><p>"Well, I'm from Mexico. You don't meet a lot of people from there anymore," Obito laughs, a loud, happy thing, "you got the worst of the worst with me. Nobody else is from <i>that</i> far south."</p><p>"How'd you get all the way up here from Mexico?" Kakashi finds it easy to ask, and he doesn't even think about it.</p><p>Obito leans his head on his hand, an arm propped on a bent knee, legs spread comfortably just a bit, "didn't like it there. Rode on the back of a truck full of hay that me and a few guys hollowed out. Went to New Mexico from there," he says simply, as if it's nothing, and Kakashi has no response to that at all. Obito's demeanor suggests that he not comment about it.</p><p>Kakashi feels delicate hands dressing his leg in a bandage after the prodding stops, before he sees Minato finally pull away, grabbing a bottle of water and pouring it on his hands, effectively wasting it because Kakashi could have <i>drank</i> that, but he holds his tongue just long enough for Minato to walk closer, allowing him the rest. He drinks every last bit of the half-full water bottle with Minato's help like a man whose been walking in the desert for two weeks.</p><p>"Wow," Obito mutters under his breath, almost pitying but something different, "you really have been struggling out there, huh?"</p><p>"I'm still alive, aren't I?" Kakashi replies curtly, not in the least bit amused, "I've been on my own basically since my dad died at the start of all of this. I've had a few groups here and there, but they all ended the same way. Generally, I keep to myself. I work better that way."</p><p>He watches as Obito's lips part and his pointed eyebrows raise by a fraction, as if daring him to say anything about that. Obito chooses to say nothing, instead opting to stay silent.</p><p>"I understand," Minato collects himself rather quickly, posture gentle, "but allow me to say this— El Paso has been standing for two and a half years now. We won't end the same way your other groups did. With all due respect, and I truly do mean that, we won't be the same, and we won't be going anywhere for a long time yet."</p><p>How is Kakashi meant to believe that? He only meant to stay in El Paso for a few weeks before moving further west towards California, which is still mostly in tact, families still together, nobody going without water or food. </p><p>He isn't meant to believe it. Minato means to show him, rather than tell, and <i>then</i> he's supposed to believe it. He sees a confirming look in Obito's face, as if to tell him that he'll personally see to it that El Paso stays standing for <i>him,</i> and Kakashi wants to believe it already. So what's stopping him from staying with them until the end?</p><p>Only but himself. </p><p>"So..." Obito drawls sheepishly, twiddling his fingers absently, "you <i>are</i> coming with us, righ? I mean, we did kind of just save your ass."</p><p>"That's odd. I don't recall asking for your help. Therefore, I don't owe you a thing."</p><p>Obito stares, gasping out a surprised sound, affronted and a little bit offended, stuttering out, "I— <i>wha—</i>" then, he crosses his arms petulantly, huffing and turning away, nose high, "I didn't want you to come with us anyways!"</p><p>From beside him, Minato chokes back a laugh.</p><p>Kakashi raises an eyebrow, "I'm joking. I'll come with you, if you'll have me."</p><p>"Of course," Minato hums, gathering his things and slinging them in the duffel bag on the floor. "We'll be happy to have you."</p><p>"He seems to be really good at scavenging," Obito mutters, and that's when Kakashi notices him ruffling through his pack. He squawks, lifting an arm and weakly swatting at it to get it away from Obito's searching hands. Obito lets it go, amused, and watches Kakashi drag it closer to himself protectively, "you really like that bag, don't you?"</p><p>"It's all I have," Kakashi states simply, "I'd rather not have random people looking through my things."</p><p>"I'm not random," Obito protests, mostly teasing. "We're campmates." </p><p>Kakashi doesn't bother responding, because he doesn't have a remark to that.</p><p>"Well then!" Minato claps his hands once, all done packing, "we'll get moving back to the compound in about five hours. In the meantime, Kakashi, you should rest up. Obito, I'll take first shift. We move out in five hours."</p><p>Obito makes a noise of acknowledgement and Minato is gone, leaving the other two alone in the room. He thinks Obito will stand up and follow Minato, but he stays, instead settling down and pulling an old magazine out of his backpack. When he catches Kakashi staring, Obito huffs, "what? Someone's gotta watch over you."</p><p>They leave it at that, and Kakashi's more than content. He relaxes as best he can on top of blankets on the floor and naps to the sound of Obito's shifting and the occasional flipping of paper.</p><p> </p><p>By the time Kakashi wakes, Minato is hovering over him with a bright, almost exaggerated smile. Minato tells him that he should get up and moving quickly, and that they'll be moving out soon. Obito's not there, so Kakashi figures that he's outside on watch for them. Minato leaves the door slightly open when he exits, as if reassuring him that they'll be near if he needs them.</p><p>Thankfully, it's much easier to move his body again, and he's not attacked with shockwaves of pain upon doing so. However, he's much more sluggish and slow than he should be after getting a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. He's completely fine with that, though, because it really <i>could</i> be worse. He shouldn't be able to move as much as he can right now after a scorpion sting, but Minato's care has given him a quickened recovery time.</p><p>For now, he should focus on staying alive. He does have two people watching his back now though, but he's not foolish at all to trust them wholly just yet. Yeah, they didn't rob him in his sleep and leave him for dead, and as much as that's a good sign, Kakashi's never been naive. Now he has options, and he's choosing to be cautiously optimistic. He opts to travel with Minato and Obito, but the moment that one of them rubs him the wrong way, he's <i>gone.</i> He's still got ammo left, a quick look through a pocket in his bag reveals, and he's not afraid to waste some bullets on two men if he has to. It's not like he hasn't done it before.</p><p>Out here, people take what they can get, and they use other people for all their worth and throw them away when they're stripped bare. Kakashi's never been one to play that way, and anybody who has tried it on him ended up dead with their packs and bodies looted and their remains left out for the mutant coyotes and mountain lions. Kakashi lives by respecting the dead, but all respect is lost if they attempt to harm their comrades. </p><p>You take care of and support your friends. Anyone who abandons them is trash. </p><p>This is what he thinks as he walks outside to meet the two men, all ready to go. They're in the middle of conversation when he approaches them, backs facing him trustingly, but they turn upon hearing his approach. Minato gives him another smile, Obito a smirk, and together, they say, "ready to head out?"</p><p>He nods, and they set out westward, back on the barren road to El Paso.</p><p>The road is filled with aching feet, a scorching sun and stops of all kinds. They stop to redress Kakashi's stab wound, to take piss breaks, and to recuperate. They don't stop, however, to kill the hostile mutated mountain lions. Obito and Minato are perfect shots, able to land a fatal blow with just a glance from several feet away as they walk. It shouldn't be so easy, especially not for Obito, who wields a revolver like the ones in old Western films, but they make it look like nothing. It's truly a relief that he's trusting two very capable people, but they could easily use that capability against him. Kakashi's got pretty good aim, too, and he might not have a lot of stamina, but he's good at thinking on his feet. It's gotten him this far, at least.</p><p>"We've got about three hours to go," Minato eventually says once they stop to rest up, instructing Kakashi to sit on the bed of an abandoned truck in the middle of nowhere, "we should see a scavenger squad or two within that time." He gently lifts up Kakashi's pant leg and unwraps the bandages to assess the wound again. It's routine, so he's paid no mind, and Kakashi busies himself by cleaning his pistol with a rag. Obito stands beside them, leaning on the side of the bed, arms crossed and eyes narrowed ahead of them.</p><p>"I can see clearly now," Minato mutters, catching their attention, "it's just a flesh wound, I think. We really shouldn't have you walking so much, though it can't be helped."</p><p>"Will I need stitches for it?" Kakashi asks. He's not looking forward to the idea, because the last time he sutured a wound, it had been on none other than himself. On his right side, towards his appendix where he'd been slashed with a knife by a raider. It had hurt like a bitch, and left an even worse looking scar because he was too shaky to do it right. </p><p>"Yes," Minato replies simply, much to Kakashi's dismay, gingerly wrapping his leg back up with new bandages, "we'll have our doctor look at you. She'll take good care of you."</p><p>"She'll probably lecture you though," Obito mentions off-handedly, "she does it a lot. Says shit like, <i>'you need to be more careful,'</i> and <i>'don't hide your wounds, let me care for them.'</i>"</p><p>"It's because she cares," Minato reasons gently, affection obvious in his expression, but Kakashi's only giving half of his attention to them because did he just hear <i>doctor?</i> "She hates seeing anyone in pain, bless her heart."</p><p>He hears them talking back and forth, but he doesn't listen to any of it. He's truly floored that a such thing as a doctor still exists in this world, and he wonders how qualified this doctor really is. Just the thought is insane. He's still caught up on that fact as they continue their trek through the desert, traveling the last couple of hours with a renewed interest.
</p><p>When they finally arrive at the front gates, he's amazed yet again as he's met with well-fortified gates. It's not military-grade by any means, but it's stronger than most things hodiernal. The gates are huge and crafted from thick sheets of metal, looking sturdy in their own right. There's two men standing guard on a post to the right, on top of the nice wall that divides the outside from the inside. They immediately have one of the men's attention upon arrival, the one sucking on a toothpick and downcast eyes, and he instantly goes down to open the gates for them. When the gates are parted just enough to let them in, Minato and Obito are greeted warmly. Kakashi is met with a smile and a curt bow, which he returns gratefully.</p><p>"We don't really have a system for welcoming new people into the community, so I'll have to go around and personally tell everyone that you're here, as not to scare them," Minato introduces, pointing to a bunch of small house-like structures to their left, "that's where I'll be for the next hour or so. Over there is the doctor's," he's then brought to a stall framed by plastic curtains just to their left, and Minato knocks on the frame for him. There's rustling from inside, and a pause, before a short woman with wide brown eyes and cropped hair pokes her head out. She looks at them in shock before opening the curtains to allow them in, Kakashi ducking his head as not to hit it on the ceiling.</p><p>"He's got a scorpion sting on his leg," Minato says to her, and she nods, humming, and he promptly leaves. Obito steps inside the cramped space as well. They're met with a table cluttered with various instruments, and an honest-to-god <i>bed.</i></p><p> A bed. A bed that's in tact.</p><p>
"So you're new, I take it?" The doctor, dressed in a red, stained coat, smiles warmly in greeting, "where'd you find him, Obito?"</p><p>
"He was fighting a losing battle with a scorpion," Obito seems to ignore the way Kakashi half-heartedly scoffs, laughing as the doctor gasps. "Rin, he's a mess."
</p><p>
The doctor, Rin, moves closer to inspect the aforementioned wound, humming as she and Obito talk back and forth in a friendly way before grabbing an old magnifying glass and a pair of tweezer-like things that make him nervous. She prods at the area, which really <i>hurts,</i> and she gives him an apology as soon as she leans away.
</p><p>
"So, the good news is that I can see fat, which means it's only a flesh wound, so the only real threat to your health is the possibility of infection," Rin explains with a professionalism thats so reminiscent of the doctors Kakashi knew long before, "but the bad news is that we'll have to stitch it up, which will hurt."
</p><p>
Kakashi inwardly groans. Honestly, he doesn't know what he was expecting, but he was just hoping that it wouldn't be <i>that.</i>
</p><p>
"Here, straighten your leg out for me this way— good. Stay like that until I get the tools I need for this."
</p><p>
To say he's nervous is an understatement. Pain has never really been a problem for him— he can take a lot, in all honesty— but having your skin tugged and repeatedly stabbed at by a needle sucks. Rin seems to sense his dilemma, because she speaks again gently, "do you want Obito to stay and help distract you? We don't have many options, but you two seem familiar with each other."
</p><p>
Minato was right— bless Rin's heart.
</p><p>
“Yeah," he manages to grunt out, and the pain hasn't even started yet, "anyone'll do. Just so long as I can focus on something else."
</p><p>
Rin just nods, Obito giving a soft sound and settling next to him on the small, sterilized bed. The doctor pulls out a drawer from under the table and digs through various clanging medical instruments until she pulls out a small bag that seems to have what she's looking for. She opens it to reveal a curved needle, a needle driver and tissue forceps along with the medical thread. She takes a quick moment to get everything ready before closing in, and Obito places his hands on Kakashi's shoulders.
</p><p>
"I'm going to start. Tell me if you ever need a second to recuperate, and I'll stop," Rin's lovely, high voice emits again, and before he has time to reply, there's a yell ripped out of him as she begins the first suture.
</p><p>
"You're doing better than I did. One time, I shot myself in the foot and Rin had to not only dig the bullet out of me, but she lad to close the hole too," Obito mutters, amusement in his voice, and it takes everything in Kakashi to focus on and process his words.
</p><p>
“How'd you manage to do that?" He grunts out, short, as another sharp pain goes through him.
</p><p>
"I was trying to do tricks with my gun," Obito muses, an innocent smile playing easy on his lips, "like, spinning it and all that. I lost grip and when I went to grab it before it hit the ground, I pulled the trigger and damn near blew my foot off."
</p><p>
The story is very amusing indeed, and he will <i>definitely</i> take the time to appreciate it later, he thinks as Rin begins tying the first surgeon's knot. It hurts, but not as badly as when she was driving the needle in, so he can deal with it, having been reduced to a dull throbbing. She ties it once, twice, thrice to really secure it. She mutters something about a minute but he's too busy catching his breath to respond. He's allowed only enough time for the pain to ease into an ache, before Rin moves back in, lining the forceps up with his skin.
</p><p>
“Just two more to go," Rin attempts to at least comfort or reassure him, "you ready?"
</p><p>
"As ready as I'll ever be," Kakashi pants, still more than a <i>little</i> breathless, and he feels Obito's grip on his shoulders tighten as he gives a small laugh. Kakashi likes the way his chest moves against him to accommodate the sound.
</p><p>
Rin starts again, and its no easier than the last time, and he can just barely get through the pain without flinching back and ruining her hard work. He has to grip the sides of the bed to prevent from lashing out at her, and he has to do so for what feels like half an hour before she pries the needle from its driver and uses it to tie his flesh together. He's given yet another minute or so to gather himself, and with Obito's hands running easy, unpredictable patterns along his shoulders and arms, he finds he can relax much easier now.
</p><p>
When the minute is over and the process is repeated one last time, Rin wraps the wound in clean bandages and backs away, giving him space to rest. She exits the stall, but Obito opts to stay and watch him, towering over him as he lowers himself unsteadily to lay flat on the bed. Obito has a strange expression on his face that Kakashi cannot identify.
</p><p>
"Don't you have better things to do?" Kakashi asks rather halfheartedly, too tired to truly be upset at the other. All Kakashi really hopes for is to sleep.
</p><p>
"Nope," Obito replies cheekily, popping the 'p' childishly. He shifts on the bed, turning, moving his legs to lay them across Kakashi's thighs, leaning his back against the wall. Kakashi can't quite figure out what gave Obito the idea that they're friendly enough to do something this physically affectionate, but he doesn't comment on it. Instead, he gives Obito a pointed look that's meant to be threatening, but it's returned with a bright smile that seems somewhat sarcastic. At that, Kakashi huffs and tries to get comfortable under Obito's heavy legs as he waits for Rin to return. </p><p>
After some time, she does, pushing the curtains back as she steps through the threshold, Minato ducking behind her as he waits at the entrance. Beside him, Obito straightens up hastily, bringing his legs up and off Kakashi and settling them near his own chest. By the way Minato throws them a funny look, Obito wasn't quick enough, though Rin seems to have missed it entirely. That, or she simply doesn't want to comment on it.
</p><p>
"Since not much is known about scorpion stings," Rin says, and Kakashi doesn't miss the attack on his intelligence there, "I suggest that you simply stay within the compound, and try not to do anything strenuous for the next three days." She turns to sit in a lone wooden chair across from his spot on the bed, "Minato's here to show you where you'll be staying."
</p><p>
Kakashi then looks at the mentioned man. He still looks every bit as welcoming as he did when they met, posture open and honest and so relaxed in a way Kakashi is envious of. It's a relief, though, because it goes without saying that he needs to get off his feet for a little while, and the blond is here to give him just that. He's very glad he managed to find these people at the exact moment that he did that night.
</p><p>
"Come, Kakashi," the blond opens the curtain further to coax him out, and tilts his head to beckon him, "we already have a place for you in the housing district."
</p><p>
"It's not a long walk," Obito comments as he helps Kakashi up and out of the bed, moving to slide out himself once Kakashi is good on his own. From in front of him, Minato offers a hand, which he gladly takes if it means his leg will stop hurting so much. He says a quick thank you, which is disregarded as they set out after saying their goodbyes to Rin.
</p><p>
Obito wasn't wrong when he said the walk was short— the housing district is just a minute's walking distance from the medical stall, and it doesn't look to be like a big area. It doesn't look modern either, not by any means, but it looks so much like a neighborhood that Kakashi has to take a moment to take it all in. From his side, Obito laughs, and Minato's hand on his shoulder squeezes for a split second in a comforting gesture he hasn't experienced since his father passed. They continue as he's led to a plce of his own.
</p><p>
They get there just moments after that, and it's nothing to be amazed of. It's more of a shack than it is a home, but it's unlike anything Kakashi's seen in years. For one, it's clean, the walls and ceiling filled in with no holes or thin patches, and the interior is dusted off and roomy for one person to live in. There's just enough room for someone to put their belongings, but Kakashi's never really had much of those— just the bare necessities. The one thing that really has him starstruck, despite all of that, is the bed sitting on the other end of the room. It's twin-sized and not luxurious at all but it's a sight for sore eyes.
</p><p> “You can get washed up tomorrow," Minato suggests gently from behind him, almost a whisper, "for tonight, though, you should rest. You need it more than anything else."
</p><p>
The hand on his shoulder squeezes lightly one last time before parting, and Minato walks out of the building with Obito in tow. He hears Obito say that they'll be back to check up on him later, but he doesn't mind that too much. After that, it's just him alone in between four well-built walls that are meant all for him. The thought provides just the right amount oof comfort as he pads over to the bed, falling flat on it with a rush of breath. He doesn't have enough time to unpack hi things, deciding that he'll do it tomorrow. After he gets some well-needed rest.
</p><p>
He truly doesn't know what tomorrow will bring him, but he cast aside his nervousness. For now, he wants to enjoy this; a ratty old bed that creaks under his weight, which feels like a gift from a god. And, as he drifts off, he can't help but to think that he's found his new home. Nothing lasts forever, especially not in this world, but he foolishly puts that aside in favor of blissful ignorance. He never wants to go without the feeling of security. Nobody should, and why should he?
</p><p>
  <i>He won't. </i>
</p><p>
That night, even if he wakes in a panic at every small sound around him, he gets better sleep than he's ever gotten in his lifetime.
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>y'all know the drill. if you find any typos pleeeease tell me k thanks love u 😘 </p><p>on another note, expect chapter two within a week or two. im usually so adverse to doing chaptered fics because I have adhd so i get at least a handful of ideas each day, and i follow each and every one of them. very few of them actually make it to 3,000 words which is my very high, very unrealistic standard considering my writing habits 😅 having said that, i lose interest in one idea as soon as i find another one! </p><p>i hate reading something and finding out midway that its abandoned and i dont want to be that kind of writer. no offense to anyone whose abandoned a story, of course ☺️ i just cant do it because of my terribly high standards that i subconsciously set for myself. </p><p>anyways ill see yall at least by december (hopefully!)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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